A Brother's Regret
by Zodiac Sefirosu
Summary: He was supposed to be the dear older brother that could, and would, protect his sibling through good and bad, thick and thin, but now…


Another drabble-thing from Sanae's blog. Basically illustrates what happened with Beat between the points of Rhyme dying and him becoming a Reaper.

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He was supposed to be the dear older brother that could, and would, protect his sibling through good and bad, thick and thin, but now…

Now the one who he had vowed to protect no matter what, his precious little sister that was the only member of his family that still believed in him, still supported him, was gone.

The teenager that referred to himself as Beat was currently slumped down on the antiquated couch residing in the backroom of WildKat Cafe. Amidst the carelessly-heaped, well-worn cardboard boxes and musty tomes concerning Angels and Devils, the boy was hunched over, elbows resting on his knees and hands pressed against his temples. Every so often, he would peek through the spaces between his fingers at the pin resting on the table in front of the couch. A steady glint bounced off of the thin metal from the light, illuminating the form of a winged squirrel imprinted into the tin, sheen brightening its gray visage and, perhaps, also being lit up by an inner light that had yet to be fully tapped into.

On the old, splintered cedar surface sat the pin that was formerly the teenager's little sister, Rhyme.

How could he have been so careless? After what had happened before, the blaring horn, the screeching brakes, the bloodcurdling screams of both crowd and victims alike as several tons of metal hurtled into defenseless human flesh. Why couldn't it have gone the way as it did that day? Why didn't the vicious fangs rip into his own skin instead of hers? Hell, those gnashing teeth of the shark Noise could have torn through both of the siblings' skin just like the speeding car did. Anything, even if it meant turning into a Noise as well, just as long as he could be together with his sister.

The skater's self-deprecating thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing a few rooms away.

"Hey, I'm back." A gruff voice called out from the main area of the cafe, accompanied by the rustling of plastic bags. Several minutes passed before the owner of the cafe himself entered the backroom, rubbing at the back of his neck casually. "I wasn't sure to pick up food-wise, so I just grabbed a bit of everyth- hey, you alright?"

Sanae Hanekoma settled himself down on the cushion beside his temporary guest, bending over at the waist slightly to try to see his face, concern clearly evident on his face.

"Why would I be a'ight, man?" The teen responded, not bothering to look up from his position. "Rhyme's dust now."

The older man sighed to himself, dreading the possibility that the older of the Bito siblings was unable to get over his sister's second death. Yes, it was sad, but one could not allow their sorrows to overtake them in this vicious game where a single mistake, a single slip-up, could equal permanent death.

Or, maybe, not so permanent.

The Angel glanced over to the pin he had forged from the bits of Rhyme's Soul he managed to gather up. Sure, bringing her back to life in the form of a Noise before The Game was complete was _technically_ against the rules, however, it certainly would not have been his first illegal action taken during the course of this bizarre game. Though, Noise pins are useless for summoning said Noise to those who are not a Reaper, a fact that he oh-so conveniently forgot to mention to the teen he was sharing the couch with.

He moved his hand to lightly pat on the younger male's shoulder comfortingly. "Hey now, she's not dust. She's right here, in front of both of us." He said, jerking his head towards the dormant pin.

The boy then finally lifted his head, looking up at the bit of tin that had taken the place of his sister. "That ain't Rhyme, yo. Tha's just a hunk a metal." He muttered bitterly, small tears beginning to well up in his eyes as saying the words cemented a sort of finality of the situation in his mind. The reality that his sister was gone.

"That's not just any chunk of tin, it's a pin." The barista continued, trying to comfort his guest as best as he could. "It contains her Soul, memories, feelings, dreams, everything she died with, locked tight within it. All it needs is for a certain someone to release it from within, for a person to unlock the pin's true potential. And you wanna know something?" The hand fell one last time on his shoulder, curling around and squeezing the joint lightly. "That person is you, her dear brother."

"B-but I already tried ta summon her, and-"

"Sometimes it just takes time." Sanae interrupted, rising up to his feet and giving him another heavy pat on the shoulder. "All you can do is just enjoy the moment and keep existing for the sake of your sister. You get Erased and she has no hope of ever returning to normal, so stay 'alive' for her sake, if nothing else, okay?" Pulling away from him, the Producer stepped over to the door. "I've given you as much help as I can provide, the rest is up to you." Opening up the door, he called back from the next room, "Now come on, I bought some curry from Ken Doi's place."

Reluctantly, Beat slid off of the couch, taking the pin of his precious sister along with him as he made his way to the main area of the cafe. "You may not be able ta help me anymore, yo, but," A couple of people suddenly appeared in the his head, a pink and orange- haired pair that had devilish wings sprouting from their backs. The teenager tightened his grip on the pin in his palm. "I know who can."


End file.
